When nothing came back, Ludwig didn't know if he felt like laughing or crying. In fact, it was such a hard decision that he just sat there and thought about it for what felt like hours as his dry eyes stared at nothing. It was only when Gilbert snapped his fingers right in front of his face that he reacted.
"Gilbert, act professional," he reflexively snapped and dragged a hand down his face.
"Sorry," Gilbert chuckled weakly and ran a hand through his hair, which looked suspiciously untidier than usual, "but you were ignoring me and I was wondering if you had a stroke or something so... anyway, it doesn't matter. I didn't find anything either."
"Of course," Ludwig grunted and tapped the knuckles of his fingers on the table. "Nothing is ever straightforward, is it?"
"But that's okay, we can handle a challenge!"
Ludwig gave his brother a less-than-impressed glare and was surprised when Gilbert's smile was too easily wiped from his face and replaced with an equally serious look.
"Look, I'm just trying to be positive. This is hard... uh, what's the word? Disheartening for me too but we just gotta keep trying. I don't want you to get weird again, okay?"
Ludwig dropped his gaze down and tried not to feel guilty. He did promise he wouldn't work himself into becoming overwhelmed or 'weird' as Gilbert put it.
"I don't know what to do," Ludwig admitted. "Obviously, I don't like not knowing what to do. For most things, there's a formula. Following that formula gets results. But with is all new and there's no formula so I am concerned that I might... possibly not be suited for this."
That was more honesty than he was expecting. But since opening up to Gilbert, he knew he could trust his brother even with words that left his mouth before he could think. That was what really scared him. It wasn't often he spoke without multiple filters curating his thoughts. Must be a side effect of hanging out with Gilbert.
"Well, luckily your awesome big brother doesn't need formulas," Gilbert said flippantly, his voice rough cracking as he crossed his arms. "If even the awesome me can't wing it, then we can put it on the back burner and do another case. I mean, it's not like we're expected to do these in order or within a certain amount of time. Sure, it'll feel bad to put her back on the shelf, but we gotta think about ourselves. And it wouldn't be forever."
"I'd rather it not come to that. I'd like to finish what we started."
"I do too! And we will! It's just about when we finish it. As long as we don't give up, it will get finished!" Gilbert said with contagious determination. "Anyway, before you got all moody, I was going to tell you that I had an idea. An awesome idea. Want to hear it?"
"You'll tell me regardless, won't you?" Ludwig said with little amusement. He wanted to bounce into their regular banter, but he was still feeling a little flat.
"Why do you say that like you could ignore me? Anyway, if we couldn't find her car at all, then what if that means she's alive? We could make an aged-up photo of her face and see if anyone recognises her!"
"Gilbert..." Ludwig found his brother's naive enthusiasm both endearing and painful. "We can confirm that all her valuables and personal items were left behind. Nothing was out of place. It would be hard to start a new life without taking something. I suppose it's not impossible, it was the 80s but unlikely considering she only had the clothes on her back."
"Yeah... I guess you're right," Gilbert sighed. "I can tell you want to call me delusional-"
"Correct."
"-buuut I just like to imagine that they're not really dead. I mean, we haven't seen their bodies so maybe they're not dead," Gilbert tapped the side of his head. "Makes me feel better."
"Didn't you tell me we receive complimentary therapy because of our profession?"
Gilbert roughly cackled and held his stomach as he laughed.
"I didn't mean that to be funny," Ludwig said sternly. "Just that the alternative is to quit and find a new profession, which I know you'd never do, so this is your next best option if you can't deal with the demands of our job."
"Awwww, come on, being delusional is working. Don't fix what isn't broken, right?" Gilbert cackled.
"Let's not waste time," Ludwig sighed. "From now on, let's only discuss the case."
"Okay, but I still think you should chill," Gilbert threw his hands up in mock surrender. "So how about we go map out the route? In person? Plus I know you like to walk and so it'll make you feel better. Come on, it wouldn't hurt, right?"
"Well, we don't have any other leads right now, it might give us some insight," Ludwig agreed. "Fine, a break wouldn't hurt."
"Great! Let's go!" Gilbert ran from the room.
"Gilbert!" Ludwig called after him and sighed when his brother didn't come back. He sighed again and stalked after him. It wasn't too hard to find Gilbert, he was in the first place he looked. In the reception office, pinching the keys to a car and bothering Natalya.
"Morning," he greeted. Natalya nodded back from her reclined position, slumping to the side in her chair away from her computer.
"I was just doing the right thing and telling Nat we were going out," Gilbert leaned against the wall and spun the keys around on his finger.
"We're not going out right now," Ludwig stressed. "It's hot today-"
"It's been hot all week! I'm not going to melt."
"No, but the UV is high today so we should put on sunscreen."
"Can you believe this?" Gilbert turned to Natalya. "I'm going to have to start calling him Mama."
"Make sure to take water," Natalya replied blankly, with a cheeky look in her eyes.
"Fine, Mama," Gilbert groaned.
"You better take a hat too," Ludwig mused.
"I know how to look after my skin, it's my skin!"
"Good, let's get ready then. The sooner we go the sooner we come back."
"Why do we need to come back so soon? Didn't I just say that we had all the time in the world!" Gilbert rolled his eyes. "We can discuss things on the road you know."
"I suppose," Ludwig shut his eyes tightly. He really didn't want to think about what they'd do once they got back. Maybe putting it off wasn't such a bad idea. At least then an idea might come to him and make him feel like he was on the right track.
"Great! See ya Nat, wish us luck!" Gilbert waved exaggeratedly as he darted out.
"I'll let you get back to work," Ludwig said as he turned to leave.
"I have faith in you," Natalya replied and Ludwig halted. She said it with such certainty... that he himself didn't possess. He half-turned and gave her a nod of acknowledgement before following his brother.
Once they were slathered in sunscreen and Gilbert donned a red bucket hat from lost and found - because believe it or not Gilbert didn't have his own despite his albino condition - they drove to the starting place of their investigative walk. Ludwig stepped out of the car and passed the file that Gilbert had insisted on bringing to his brother as he assessed his surroundings. Gilbert grabbed the file and took out the newspapers, shuffling them in one hand so he could take a large sip from his water bottle.
"Was this always a pet shop?" He asked as he hooked his bottle to his belt.
"I think it was a clothing brand back then," Ludwig replied.
Gilbert lowered his sunnies as he peered at the building. Right now, it sold pet supplies. But 40 years ago it was Elizabeta's place of work.
"See, this is why I grabbed the papers! We can see how things have changed since."
"I agree that's a good idea," Ludwig hummed.
"Good, because it is. It's an awesome idea. Now if we use this map, all we have to do is walk along it to get to her house!" Gilbert paused as he looked at the map. "How long do you think it'll take?"
"It'll be a long walk," Ludwig said evasively. "Possibly up to an hour."
"Great, I hope you enjoy it then," Gilbert groaned. "I'm already sweating."
"It'll only get hotter. We should start now."
The first 10 minutes or so were fine. Gilbert chatted aimlessly, flicking through the pages of the newsletter and holding them up to their surroundings to see how much had changed in the 40-odd years. Though Ludwig was less interested in the scenery. Instead taking note of every intersection they came across and every location where an incoming vehicle might've been able to take Elizabeta off guard and divert her car.
In all honesty, he wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for. A miracle, perhaps?
Their first obstacle came in the form of roadworks, spanning the length of a block as the road was being redone. Gilbert grumbled in annoyance on Ludwig's behalf, but Ludwig wasn't actually too annoyed. His eyes scanned down the street since he wouldn't be able to walk it and then led his brother to walk around the block instead so they could get back on track.
It did add some time to their trip, but Gilbert didn't seem to notice. He was too obsessed with the idea of building a time capsule and burying it for their future selves. Ludwig just nodded as Gilbert listed everything they'd put in it, from today's newspapers to Gilbird's loose feathers.
Ludwig was becoming annoyed when they ran into more roadworks. He could sympathise with the backed-up line of cars that were moving at only a fraction of a snail's pace. But he couldn't see a way for pedestrians to get past so he sighed as he dragged Gilbert around it.
Once they were back on track, Gilbert started complaining about having run out of water and sweating too much. The dry heat was really getting to him.
"Just have some of my water," Ludwig sighed - Gilbert could easily make a drinking game out of how many times he'd sighed today - and handed his older (not that older meant wiser) brother his water bottle.
"Thanks, Lud," Gilbert said sheepishly and took a swig. "I can always count on you to be prepared. But this bottle is freakishly big. There's no way you'll be drinking all of this."
Ludwig looked at him and didn't know where to start.
"It's 2 litres. That's how much water you're meant to have each day so of course the bottle is big."
"There's no way I'd be able to get through all of this," Gilbert gawked. "Do you actually drink this much every single day?"
"Most days, yes," Ludwig shrugged and ignored the irritation of having some water taken from it, which now meant the measured amount of water he'd drank today was wrong. But since it was already ruined, he didn't care now.
"You should tip some into your bottle so you won't have to ask me again."
"Good idea, thanks bro," Gilbert stopped walking to open his water bottle and transfer water. Ludwig wanted to facepalm when he saw his bottle was tiny and only 600 ml.
When Gilbert passed his water bottle back, Ludwig snatched it and pushed on, only just holding his tongue and not criticising his brother about being prepared. A tiger can't change its stripes, after all.
It turned out to be a very good thing that Ludwig didn't criticise Gilbert after all because with increasing irritation he realised it would make him a hypocrite. With great reluctance, he had to admit his foresight was not so great. He really should've driven the route first just to find out if it truly was walkable. He wanted to pull at his hair because it seemed that everything was determined to get in his way and stop him from doing his job. As they approached the bridge marked on the map he could see that this was where the road ended. The bridge was entirely blocked off, for both cars and pedestrians alike and this time there was no alternative or option to go around because the next bridge across was definitely not within walking distance.
"Are you kidding?" Gilbert grunted as he leaned on his knees. "Scheisse! And we were almost there too!"
Ludwig grunted in acknowledgment as he stalked back and forth along the path overlooking the river. Any other day, he'd think the weather was pleasant and the scenery was charming. But now he was tempted to pick up a rock and throw it with as much force as he could muster into the sparkling water below. While he'd never lash out like that physically, the thought brought him a small amount of satisfaction.
Gilbert huffed as he collapsed on a bench under a shaded tree behind his brother, throwing his head back as he held up the newspapers above his head and flicked through them. Ludwig shook his head and instead mentally revised what they were going to do now.
Just what options did they have?
"Oh hey! Check this out!" Gilbert jumped up and shoved the newspaper forward. "This is the same bridge!"
"Gilbert..." Ludwig sighed and when he turned, his brother was standing there with the newspaper held up in his face.
"It's the first thing I've seen from then in real life," Gilbert said like he'd just found 50 dollars on the ground.
Ludwig ignored the paper, glancing over it with empty eyes to look at his brother. Today felt like nothing but failure and Ludwig could not understand how his brother was remaining so optimistic. Unless it was a facade and Gilbert was just as torn up as he was. But why couldn't Gilbert act like it. Ludwig didn't have the energy.
"There's shit everywhere. I think there must be a whole tree scattered on it cus you can hardly see the road. And look! They have different barriers now. I bet they replaced them after the storm because one of them is missing. I can't see it in this picture. Also, I think that's someone's mailbox."
Ludwig's eyes flickered to the paper. He could see the photo Gilbert was talking about. The picture was taken on the bridge and he could see debris everywhere. True to Gilbert's word, one of the metal barriers was missing, no doubt taken out by a large tree branch. It wouldn't be surprising, considering how weak the infrastructure seemed before it was upgraded.
Ludwig stared blankly at Gilbert, who really should be grateful he entertained him because the changes during the past decades were hardly relevant.
"Don't sulk Lud," Gilbert sighed and lowered the paper. "We haven't finished the whole walk so there's hope, right?"
"We won't be finishing it anytime soon."
"Sure we can, because I had an awesome idea and I just didn't say it til now cus I know you'd only want to hear it if this didn't work out. Do you wanna hear it?"
"Sure."
"So, we just got drones!" Gilbert said, no doubt having ever forgotten since they got them in. "What if we flew over? We take notes, discuss theories and make some progress. We can worry about what we're gonna do after we zoom around with a drone."
Actually... using drones wasn't a bad idea. At the very least it would let them complete the route.
"I'll take that as a yes," Gilbert said smugly and looped his arm with Ludwig's. "Is your brother an awesome genius or what?"
"If you're so smart, have you noticed anything during this walk?" Ludwig let himself be pulled along by Gilbert as they retraced their steps.
"Just that you've been super focused and uptight," Gilbert laughed but stifled it when Ludwig tried to rip his arm away. "Okay okay, I do have some thoughts. The route she took meant she didn't have to stop or yield, she had the right of way. Maybe someone was doing something illegal and for whatever reason, ran one of those signs and hit her car. Maybe because she was a witness they had to get rid of her and the car. And if she was hit, maybe because of the bad weather any parts of the cars that got damaged were blown away and lost so no one saw the leftovers that there was a car crash and so no one was suspicious. But that's just a theory, a detective theory!"
"But that still relies on the perpetrator disposing of her car, which we've thoroughly investigated," Ludwig countered. They had even looked into other cars taken into workshops just in case.
"But still, the stop and yield signs being on the other sides of the road could be something. I'm just taking notes," Gilbert tapped the side of his head. "I'll keep an eye out on the way back for anything else too and we can discuss it on the drive back. Share intel and all that. But I know you like nature and walking and all that so how about I keep an eye out and you try to unwind a bit-"
Ludwig tried to protest but Gilbert talked over him.
"-cus I know you probably strained your eyes right out of your skull on the way here and only one of us needs to have shitty eyesight. You're always going on and on about the health benefits of walking so why don't you look out for yourself and try to loosen up Lud!"
Ludwig didn't have the patience to argue, so instead he just nodded and resumed to scan his surroundings. Would the answer jump out at him if he stopped looking?
When they got back to the car, parched and overheated, the air conditioner was a welcoming first-world luxury. The brothers exchanged potential factors they had noticed and as Gilbert was driving, Ludwig drafted an email to Natalya about using a drone. Efficient as ever, they had confirmation before they even made it back to the precinct.
Hopefully, by using a drone, they would notice something that would put everything into place and give them a lead. Something that would help them find Elizabeta.